Colleges Brace For Flood Of Students

The Continued Tidal Wave In Enrollment Could Make Ucf The State's Third-largest University.

August 27, 2001|By Scott Powers, Sentinel Staff Writer

Orlando-area colleges are bursting with record numbers of students, a trend that could make the University of Central Florida the state's third-largest university this fall.

Preliminary counts indicate that 36,000 students have enrolled at UCF, a 7.7 percent increase over last year's record. UCF also is claiming its freshmen class is the smartest -- in terms of SAT scores -- and possibly the most ethnically diverse in the school's history.

Those enrollment estimates would push UCF past Florida State University in Tallahassee for the first time.

"I like that," said Monica Moodie, a 19-year-old sophomore from Palm Beach. "That means we'll get more respect. We're an up-and-coming school."

The University of Florida in Gainesville remains the state's largest with 46,126 students. The University of South Florida in Tampa also may remain larger than UCF. USF, which is expecting 37,500 students, does not open until today and will not have a preliminary count for a week.

None of the counts will be official for another few weeks as schools wait for students to drop out or arrive late before making any final counts.

FSU is likely to pull ahead of UCF when universities report their full-time-equivalents, a measure of enrollment that counts part-time students as fractions. But the Orlando school still may rank third-largest statewide, because USF has a larger number of part-time students.

Other area colleges also are seeing record growth. Rollins College in Winter Park is declaring this year's freshmen class its biggest, smartest and most diverse. Valencia and Seminole community colleges are straining this fall to keep up with unexpected explosive growth.

Central Florida schools are benefiting from the area's rapid growth and attraction to out-of-town students. Also, in slower economic times, more people tend to enroll in college, particularly in community colleges, to shore up their skills and resumes.

TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING?

But more students can bring more problems. At UCF, students struggle with bumper-to-bumper morning traffic, brimming parking lots, long lines, big classes and crowds bulging the Student Union, library and other gathering spots.

"This is ridiculous," said senior Sean Wilt, 22, a molecular-biology student from Melbourne. "It seems UCF is always one step behind all the time -- offering classes, getting new parking garages built."

In the past year UCF opened a new parking garage and a new dormitory complex, expanded the Student Union, and added 53 professors. A new recreation center opens this winter and another parking garage next fall. But 2,500 more students are at UCF this fall than last year, and 6,000 more than when Wilt enrolled.

Provost Gary Whitehouse said the university is running out of space to hold classes, and class sizes are going up. But he said he thinks enough classes are available, provided students are not picky about what hour they are held.

Tom Huddleston, UCF vice president for student development and enrollment services, suggested several reasons for the boom: Fewer students are dropping out, more are enrolling full time and UCF's reputation is improving rapidly.

A SMALLER ALTERNATIVE

"There is a perception by many students that the campus is very inviting and . . . many students do not perceive this campus to be as large as the University of Florida and Florida State," Huddleston said. "I think you're finding more and more students that are more and more satisfied, and they're telling other people."

Count Latarra Zeigler and Khadija Harper, among them. The 18-year-olds from Gainesville are among UCF's record 4,000 freshmen this fall.

Zeigler came to study engineering, and Harper is in cardiopulmonary science. They both chose UCF over UF, which they imagined would have bigger classes and a less-personal atmosphere. In fact, UF President Charles Young said this week that school may have grown too big.

CLASSES ARE BOOKED SOLID

Valencia expected to grow at 3 percent to 4 percent this fall. It nearly doubled that rate, so it outgrew the money provided by the state. Michael Hooks, vice president for planning and educational services, said the school's campuses are approaching capacity, with crowded classes, closed classes and full buildings.

"In the past students could come to us a few days before classes started and expect to get most of the classes they wanted. That is not happening now," Hooks said. "We have to tell students, `We're sorry; you may have to come back in session two, in January.' "

Rollins' total enrollment went up almost 9 percent to 3,091. That includes a record 1,650 students in Rollins' traditional program, the College of Arts and Sciences, with a record 475 freshmen.

"The majority of our students are not coming from Florida. There is just a great buzz about Rollins nationally," said Roger Casey, dean of faculty of Arts and Sciences.

That college added 25 professors and held class sizes steady, Casey said. He loves the busier atmosphere.

"There is a much livelier feel to the campus," Casey said. "Anytime you walk around you see students gathering, talking, walking around."